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New Testament
Numbers 3
Aaron's Sons and the Duties of the Levites
31This is the family history of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
2These are the names of Aaron's sons: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3These are the names of Aaron's sons, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests.
4Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.
5The Lord spoke to Moses: 6“Bring the tribe of Levi near and have them stand before Aaron the priest so that they may assist him. 7They will perform the duties for him and for the entire congregation in front of the Tent of Meeting by doing the work for the Dwelling. 8They will take care of all the furnishings for the Tent of Meeting and perform the duties of the Israelites by doing the work for the Dwelling. 9You will give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are completely given to him from among the Israelites. 10But you will appoint Aaron and his sons, and they will serve in the priesthood. Any unauthorized person who goes near must be put to death.”
The Census of the Levites for Assigning Their Duties
11The Lord spoke to Moses, 12“See, I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of every firstborn that opens the womb among the Israelites. The Levites are mine, 13because all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, both human and animal. They are mine. I am the Lord.”
14The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, 15“Register the Levites according to their fathers' houses, by their clans. You are to register every male a month old and up.”
16So Moses registered them as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.
17These were the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18These were the names of the sons of Gershon according to their clans: Libni and Shimei.
19The sons of Kohath according to their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20The sons of Merari according to their clans were Mahli and Mushi.
The following were the clans of the Levites according to their fathers' houses.
21From Gershon came the Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan. These were the Gershonite clans. 22Those who were registered, counting all the males who were a month old and up, were 7,500. 23The Gershonite clans camped behind the Dwelling on the west side. 24The tribal chief of the father's house for the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25The duties of the descendants of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting involved the dwelling cover and the tent,[] its coverings, and the screen for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 26also the hangings of the courtyard, and the screen for the entrance to the courtyard which surrounds the Dwelling and the altar, and its ropes—everything related to this work.
27From Kohath came the Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan. These were the Kohathite clans. 28Counting all the males who were a month old and up, there were 8,600 to perform the duties of the sanctuary. 29The clans of the descendants of Kohath camped on the south side of the Dwelling. 30The tribal chief of the father's house for the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils with which they serve, and the screen—everything related to this work. 32The tribal chief over the Levite tribal chiefs was Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest. He was in charge of those performing the duties of the sanctuary.
33From Merari came the Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan. These were the Merarite clans. 34Those who were registered, counting all the males who were a month old and up, were 6,200. 35The tribal chief of the father's house for the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail. They camped on the north side of the Dwelling. 36The appointed duties for the sons of Merari involved the Dwelling's boards, its crossbars, its posts, its bases, all its equipment—everything related to this work, 37also the posts for the surrounding courtyard, their bases, their tent pegs, and their ropes.
38Those who camped in front of the Dwelling on the east side, in front of the Tent of Meeting, toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and Aaron's sons, who were performing the duties of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Any unauthorized person who goes near shall be put to death. 39All of the Levities who were registered when the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to register them according to their clans, every male a month old and up, were 22,000.
Redemption of the Firstborn
40The Lord said to Moses, “Register all the firstborn males of the Israelites one month old and up, and make a list of their names. 41You are to take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of every firstborn among the Israelites, and take the livestock of the Levites instead of every firstborn among the livestock of the Israelites.” 42So Moses registered all the firstborn among the Israelites as the Lord commanded. 43All the firstborn males listed by name, one month old and up, when registered, totaled 22,273.
44The Lord spoke to Moses: 45“Take the Levites instead of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites will be mine. I am the Lord. 46For the redemption of the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, 47you are to collect five shekels apiece for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel (this shekel is twenty gerahs).[] 48You are to give the money, the redemption price for the additional Israelites, to Aaron and his sons.”
49Moses collected the redemption money from those who outnumbered the ones redeemed by the Levites who took their place. 50He collected the money from the firstborn of the Israelites, 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. 51Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, in obedience to the word of the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- 3:25 The term dwelling here refers to the innermost covering of the Dwelling. The tent is the layer above the dwelling.
- 3:47 The exact value of most ancient weights and measures is uncertain, and there was no universal standard. The sanctuary had its own set of official weights. A shekel is about 10 to 12 grams or 0.4 to 0.5 ounce, with the sanctuary shekel being slightly larger than the common shekel. There is no independent evidence for the weight of a gerah.